State of New York

Supreme Court, Appellate Division

Third Judicial Department

Decided and Entered: September 11, 2014 517968 

________________________________

In the Matter of ALTON C. 

HUTCHINSON,

Appellant,

v MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

BRIAN FISCHER, as Commissioner 

of Corrections and 

Community Supervision,

Respondent.

________________________________

Calendar Date: August 4, 2014

Before: Stein, J.P., McCarthy, Garry, Rose and Clark, JJ.

__________

Alton C. Hutchinson, Malone, appellant pro se.

Eric T. Schneiderman, Attorney General, Albany (Martin A.

Hotvet of counsel), for respondent.

__________

Appeal from an amended judgment of the Supreme Court

(Lynch, J.), entered July 3, 2013 in Albany County, which

dismissed petitioner's application, in a proceeding pursuant to

CPLR article 78, to review a determination of the Central Office

Review Committee denying petitioner's grievance. 

The facts underlying this proceeding are more fully set

forth in a prior decision of this Court (Matter of Hutchinson v

Fischer, 112 AD3d 1245, 1245 [2013], lv denied 23 NY3d 903

[2014]). Briefly, petitioner is a prison inmate who settled a

federal civil rights action for $7,500, and the Office of Victim

Services was notified by the Department of Corrections and

Community Supervision of that fact. Petitioner filed two inmate

grievances alleging that the notification was improper, and we
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found that the denial of the first grievance was rational (id. at

1245-1246). This CPLR article 78 proceeding deals with the

second grievance, in which petitioner pointed out that

notification was only required for "the imminent payment of a

federal civil rights compensatory damages award" and argued that

a settlement did not constitute such an award (Dept of Corr &

Community Supervision Directive No. 4036 [IV] [A]; see Pub L 104-

134, tit VIII, § 808, 110 Stat 1321 [termed the "Prison

Litigation Reform Act of 1995"]). The Central Office Review

Committee (hereinafter CORC) denied that grievance, and Supreme

Court dismissed the present challenge to its determination. 

Petitioner now appeals.

We affirm. Contrary to petitioner's assertion, CORC

rejected his argument that his settlement fell outside the scope

of the reporting requirement set forth by Department of

Corrections and Community Supervision Directive No. 4036. To the

extent that the merits of that argument are properly before us,

the directive is based in relevant part upon a federal law

requiring that reasonable efforts be made to give notice to

victims whenever compensatory damages are "awarded to a prisoner

in connection with a civil action brought against" correction

officials (Pub L 104-134, tit VIII, § 808, 110 Stat 1321 [termed

the "Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995"]). The settlement

here was recovered in connection with such an action and, thus,

CORC rationally determined that it constituted the "payment of a

federal civil rights compensatory damages award" such as to

trigger the reporting requirements of the directive (Dept of Corr

& Community Supervision Directive No. 4036 [IV] [A]; see Matter

of Hutchinson v Fischer, 112 AD3d at 1246). CORC further noted,

correctly, that denial of the grievance was warranted because

"there is nothing in the law that prohibits the reporting of any

monetary settlement" (see Matter of Hutchinson v Fischer, 112

AD3d at 1246).

Stein, J.P., McCarthy, Garry, Rose and Clark, JJ., concur.
-3- 517968 

ORDERED that the amended judgment is affirmed, without

costs.

ENTER:

Robert D. Mayberger

Clerk of the Court